If your phone is too cumbersome or embarrassing, this accessory saves face.

HTC has released a small, less capable handset to accompany one of its oversized, perhaps overly capable smartphones, according to a report from Slashgear. The HTC Mini, which resembles a candybar feature phone, connects to HTC’s oversized Butterfly smartphone via NFC so that owners need not be embarrassed or encumbered by their giant Android slab.

The HTC Mini has a number pad and small screen and can be used as a handset companion to the Butterfly (the non-US version of HTC’s Droid DNA) as well as a remote control when the Butterfly is connected to a larger display. The Mini can make calls, display messages and calendar events, and control the shutter on the Butterfly when connected.

Let’s not mislay the point entirely, here: 5-inch-plus phones can be cumbersome to use, especially one-handed, given that a thumb’s reach only extends so far. Customers who may be enticed by that big, pretty 1080p display may not come to terms with that reality until it’s too late, return-policy-wise. But releasing a companion device to fill in the gaps where big phones fall short makes the big devices seem like all the more of a dirty trick.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the practice of carrying two cell phones of complimentary sizes is not unheard of: in Asia, women who carry big phones in their purse may carry secondary cellphones in their pockets. This still strikes us as perhaps being too accommodating of the phablet trend, but it’s hard to argue with the millions of people who have already bought in.

117 Reader Comments

Great idea IMHO. Let me put my "proper" tablet in my bag and I can put this in my pocket. Now, to get a proper tablet with a cellular phone app. I guess I could use one of the myriad of Internet phone apps...

So, is this just a bluetooth headset in a cell phone form factor that connects to the actual phone?

Read the article. It uses NFC, not Bluetooth. I can see the usefulness of it, especially if once connected via NFC, its range is significantly better than simple NFC... you could use it for normal-looking self-portraits on your phone, and if it can connect to the original device over Wi-Fi or even cellular service, if your phone gets stolen, you can turn on the camera (and possibly even GPS) so you could track down your phone (or aid law enforcement if you're so inclined).

If I actually used my cellphone for anything telephone related I might consider something like this.

As it is I use my phone for making a phone call so rarelty that I can certainly deal with holding it up to my face on the rare occasion that it's necessary. The thing is only a couple hundred grams or so so it's not as if it's a strain.

I can see there being a market for something complementary like this, but I think that market is a small one.

This still strikes us as perhaps being too accommodating of the phablet trend, but it’s hard to argue with the millions of people who have already bought in.

That's a silly view to take. Phones are much more useful (and getting much more use) as pocket computers than they are as an actual voice phones. For everything other than holding it up to your head a bigger screen is better, so it makes sense to get a small additional handset if you are actually going to be using it as a phone regularly. Expect to see more and more of this kind of personal area network (PAN) stuff in the near future.

Read the article. It uses NFC, not Bluetooth. I can see the usefulness of it, especially if once connected via NFC, its range is significantly better than simple NFC... you could use it for normal-looking self-portraits on your phone, and if it can connect to the original device over Wi-Fi or even cellular service, if your phone gets stolen, you can turn on the camera (and possibly even GPS) so you could track down your phone (or aid law enforcement if you're so inclined).

It uses NFC to connect, but Bluetooth to communicate after that. NFC doesn't have anywhere near the range required to make this useful on it's own.

This seems like a painfully dubious implementation of what could be a perfectly reasonable concept.

We already have bluetooth headsets/hands-free kits, for situations where you where you want to use a cellphone without tying your hands up, and that works well enough.

We also have a situation where ever more dubiously-phone devices(tablets, 'phablets', full PCs with cell modems) have cellular connectivity that could be used to do cellphone things; but would look sillier than an N-Gage if held to the side of your head.

Given that, it seems reasonable enough that some sort of 'just like a good, old-fashioned nokia candybar, only lighter and with a better screen' might be a sensible thing.

However, a manufacturer and device specific NFC(as opposed to bluetooth, srsly?) device? That's the sort of horrible niche were devices go to suck and die.

Especially with voice commands actually being halfway functional, any accessory really needs to make a good case for why I shouldn't just use a bluetooth headset that would be a lot cheaper and more device-agnostic. In order to make that case, it just isn't going to be good enough to be a manufacturer-specific widget with hooks into a few specific aspects of the phone and nothing else.

If Android were to evolve an answer to Microsoft's old "Sideshow" concept, designed around supporting less-capable(but still more capable than a basic headset) devices in communication with larger and more powerful systems, you could do some really interesting things with that. Without actual ecosystem support, though, the whole affair is nothing but a bluetooth headset with obsolete-before-release proprietary knobs on...

Also, I know I'm not the first to think of it. I don't understand why people think it's a bad idea. It's really a natural evolution that I'm surprised is taking this long to get here.

(Obligatory "If Apple did this with some kind of iDevice you'd all think it was amazing" comment.)

EDITReally, downvoting for tongue in cheek poking fun of the Android/Apple fanwar? I'm not even involved in that war, I have no smartphone and would prefer Windows Phone 8 if I did have one. The winking is to show sarcasm. Maybe instead of "Obligatory" I should have put "In before." I know it's not just for the content/opinion of the post as similar posts have nowhere near the vote traffic.

The idea itself is especially interesting with the rumors that Apple may be developing a new device to use as a companion to the iPhone which would be worn as a watch. (Mostly started with the change of the Nano if I remember correctly?)

Relistically it can be cumbersome to use things like the Samsung Note as a phone with any frequency, so this would make sense for those that need the ability to make phone call sporadically. I could see the evolution of this as having a larger device device that can handle data and voice with accessories such as outlined in the article that provide some functionality without having to drag out the whole device.

I'm shocked that so many people carry bags or pockets big enough to hold a tablet or big smartphone. At least, to the point where they would be easily and immediately accessible when the need to use it arose. Last time I went looking for a phone, I seriously considered the S III (mostly because of screen size envy coming from an older iphone 4), but it was just too big. I don't carry a bag and my jeans pockets are too small to hold it comfortably. I can't even imagine carrying a tablet of any size.

The whole point of my mobile device is to be useful on the go. When I get home, I use my laptop/computer. When I get to work, I use my computer. When I go out, I try to engage the world and generally avoid the need for serious time on my device. The people I see using tablets in restaurants and on the train? I just don't get that. The form factor simply makes no sense in a mobile or active context.

Usability with one hand plays heavily into this. If I'm out and about, I need to be able to handle my device with one hand. I find it acceptable to occasionally use my other hand, but not primarily.

With all that in mind, this concept seems absurd to me. If my mobile device was in a bag, I'd want the ability to reach into the bag and pull out a device I was able to use comfortably in most contexts. If that isn't possible, I may as well be lugging around my laptop with a tethered headset. After all, if we are carrying tablets because they enable us to do so much more than a smartphone, why not carry an honest to god computer?

So, is this just a bluetooth headset in a cell phone form factor that connects to the actual phone?

It's so meta, and when you think about it,you realize that consumerism can't ever be cured, and THIS is why HTC is dying. the actual phone, and the extender phone just reveals that 5" phones are simply too fucking big ugh.

It's absolutely silly that we're letting these companies sell us on the idea that the smartphone and tablet need necessarily be separate devices. If all tablets came with an optional cellular radio then something like this would not only be smart it would be necessary. Instead of purchasing a $500 tablet + $200 (with contract) phone we'd purchase a single device that fit our most common mobility use case. For those of us who purchased a tablet a small, $50-$100 Bluetooth handset that enabled caller-id, contact selection and (possibly) text messaging would be a good thing. Leave the big tablet in the carry-bag (whatever you use) when you're just making/receiving a call and pull it out when you need to do more.

Instead we continue to allow these manufacturers to tell us that we need two devices that have a hugely significant overlap in functionality that are both high cost.

HTC, why not release a Rezound 2 with the same 4.3" 720p screen for us who want phones that are still (barely) usable with one hand? I'm still waiting for the next flagship Android device that's 4.3" or smaller, and I know I'm not the only one.

The story says "...two cell phones of complimentary sizes..." but it should say "complementary." Two phones of sizes that complement each other or form a complete whole, rather than two phones of sizes that are free or flattering.

It seems to me like the better solution would be to use a Bluetooth headset, or just use speakerphone mode and hold the phone in front of you instead of right up to your head. Personally, I have no cell service and use my phone and tablet WiFi only, with Skype as my primary voice service (I have unlimited Skype calling to/from regular phone numbers). If I'm calling Skype-to-Skype, I often have video as well, so holding the phone up to my ear just isn't appropriate (and isn't an option at all on the tablet).

Holding a modern smartphone up to the side of your head just seems a bit weird and archaic to me now, because the devices (even the smaller ones) are clearly not ergonomically designed for that use. If you look at the handset of a typical land line phone, it looks like something that that's designed to hold next to your head. Rectangular slabs with screens covering the majority of the face are something you should point your eyes at, not hold to your ear.